When Was My House Built and Why Does it Matter

Estimated reading time 6 minutes
The landscape of houses in the UK paints a varied picture. New builds sit alongside older homes, terraced houses line up beside bungalows and mansions hide around the corner from country cottages. It’s been reported that almost 30 million properties fill the acres of land the UK covers with the ages of these homes ranging from just a few days to well over 100 years old.
This data may appear trivial - or just a little informative to some - but knowing when your house was built stands to help with not only aiding any future sale but also plays a part in how you can upgrade it and how much you may need to pay for any insurance.
In this blog, we uncover how you can find out when your house was built, and why it could help you sell your house fast.
How can I find when my house was built?
To find when your house was built can be quite quick and easy. However, it can also become a bit of a treasure hunt if you don’t have some information already to hand.
The Land Registry
Your first port of call could be the Land Registry. This may not deliver what you hoped for though. As the title suggests, the Land Registry only documents who owns the land and not what is built upon it. However, the records held will show the transfers of the lease or sales of the land, giving you an idea of when properties may have been built there.
Title deeds or register
If you couldn’t source sufficient information from the Land Registry, checking over your title deeds could be a great option. You’ll have these from when you purchased the property and you should be able to find details relating to any transfers of ownership. This should lead you to when the property was built. The date of registration shows you when the land transferred ownership from the developer to an owner.
Your mortgage offer
The mortgage offer for the home should contain a wealth of information about the property, including when it was built. Try this if you have no luck with the deeds.
Previous owners
Have you purchased a house directly from the people that built it? Then they might be the best option to find out when it was built. If they didn’t build it themselves, it might still be an option worth investigating. The previous owners may have information you couldn’t find elsewhere.
The local council
Local councils hold vast amounts of information and when your property was built could be among it. This is quite likely if applications for planning permission are on file.
The home survey
You are likely to have conducted a survey conducted when buying the home, this could also be a great place to look for information relating to the age of your home if the other options have failed.
I can’t find when my house was built, are there other ways to find out?
Yes. If you live in a listed building or a particularly old property, you might have to dig a little deeper to find out when it was built.
The 1862 Act Register has 2,000 properties listed on it and could be a key to finding the data you need. Alternatively, diving into the census returns between 1841-1911 to see if you can track the age of your home down. With the census only being carried out every ten years, you won’t have many to look through.
Finally, you could have a look at the National Heritage List for England or the National Historic Assets of Wales listings and see what is recorded there.
Why is it important to know when my house was built?
It may not sound important to many people. Delving into the history of the home isn’t particularly exciting for many but it stands to benefit you in more ways than you may think, and helps you avoid some costly penalties too.
More accurate insurance coverage
By providing your insurer with accurate information relating to the age of your property, you stand to receive a quote that matches the age of the property, misjudge the age significantly and you could be paying more than necessary for your home insurance.
Fairer price when you sell
Knowing the age of the property allows you to price it correctly. An incorrect century or even decade could mean your house is priced way out of the range it should be filling.
Help with renovations
You may want to alter the property in some way and having an idea of its age will help you not only source the correct materials but also potentially increase its value by upgrading it correctly. You should check if the property is a listed building first though. Some properties will have specific rules surrounding what can and cannot be done to them and if you were to breach any of these, you could be facing costly penalties and must return what you altered to its original state.
Cost control
Knowing how old your home is will give you an indication of its energy efficiency and what changes you may need to make to make it more efficient.
Will knowing when my house was built affect its value?
Yes. Older homes, whilst sometimes seen as more stunning architecturally, are not built to the same standard as modern ones and as a result may sell for less than more recently built properties. Some properties are seen as more prestigious than others due to their location or their age and this could see them being priced much higher than other properties in the area.
Are older properties harder to sell?
They can be. Concerns over energy efficiency, the structure, insurance costs and the type of materials required for repairs and maintenance could mean the potential number of buyers is limited.
There is still a smooth route to sale though. A company like Bettermove offers to buy any home, in any condition, no matter its age or location. You simply give us a call, tell us about your home and we make you an offer or present it to a team of cash house buyers. If you then agree to the offer, we set the wheels in motion to get your home sold in a timeframe that suits you.